
CONFLICT 
Protagonist: The protagonist of the story is George. He is the kind-hearted ranch hand who is 
concerned about his friend Lennie and watches out for him. 
Antagonist: The antagonist of the story is George's trying to care for the handicapped Lennie. 
Because he has a giant's body and a child's mind, Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife; at the 
same time he kills the dream of owning a farm that has kept George and Lennie positive about 
the future 
Climax: The climax occurs when Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife. George knows that he 
can no longer save Lennie, for Curley will want revenge. 
Outcome: Of Mice and Men ends in tragedy. George feels compelled to mercifully kill his 
friend and companion, Lennie, in order to save him from a brutal death. The death of Lennie also 
marks the death of the beautiful dream they have been nurturing. 
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MOOD 
The dominant mood of the story is that of expectation. This mood is developed through the 
dreams of the major characters. The other mood that prevails is premonitory, of impending 
doom. There are also other moods evoked through the actions of the characters reflecting sorrow, 
pity, and brutality. The novel ends on a tragic note. The mood at the end is definitely one of 
depression and frustration. 
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PLOT (Synopsis) 
One evening, two men, on their way to a ranch, stop at a stream near the Salinas River. George, 
who is short and dark, leads the way. The person following him is Lennie, a giant of a man with 
huge arms. During their conversation by the stream, George repeatedly asks Lennie to keep his 
mouth shut on the ranch, suggesting that Lennie has some kind of problem. After supper and 
before going to sleep, the two of them talk about their dream to own a piece of land. 
The next day, George and Lennie travel to the ranch to start work. They are given two beds in 
the bunkhouse. Then Old Candy introduces them to almost everybody on the ranch. They meet 
the boss and the boss's son Curley, who is quite rude. They also meet Curley's wife when she 
comes looking for her husband. She wears heavy make-up and possesses a flirtatious attitude. 
George warns Lennie to behave his best around Curley and his wife. He also suggests that they 
should meet by the pool if anything unfortunate happens to either of them on the ranch. 
George and Lennie are assigned to work with Slim, who is sensible and 'civilized' and talks with 
authority. George finds Slim an understanding confidante, and a bond forms between the two of
OF MICE AND MEN 
KEY LITERARY ELEMENTS 
SETTING 
This book is set in two places. It starts beside a stream, close to the Salinas River, a few miles 
South of Soledad. It then moves to a ranch, where the major part of the story is set. At the end of 
the novel, the setting comes back to where it started. 
George and Lennie are introduced by the stream. They are on their way to a near-by ranch. The 
surrounding land is thick in vegetation and has its own wild life. Men frequent it, as there are ash 
piles made by many fires and the limbs of the sycamore tree have been smoothed by the many 
men who have sat on it. 
The ranch, where the major part of the story takes place, appears isolated and lonely. It includes 
a ranch house, a bunkhouse where the ranch workers live, a barn, and a harness-room off the 
barn. 
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CHARACTERS 
Major Characters 
George - the protagonist and main character of the book. He is a caring, compassionate, and 
understanding human being who dreams of owning his own piece of land. 
Lennie - the obedient friend of George. He has a child's mind and a giant's body. It is these 
contrasting qualities that cause him problems. 
Old Candy - one of the lonely ranch workers. He is a cripple, working as a 'Swamper'. 
Crooks - a black ranch hand. He is sensible and neat, with a mind of his own. He is a lonely 
character, who is discriminated against, due to his race. 
Slim - a ranch worker with leadership qualities. He commands respect from all on the ranch. 
Curley - the boss's son who is a light weight boxer. He picks fights with everybody on the ranch. 
Curley's wife - the only woman on the ranch. She is very flirtatious. 
Minor Characters 
Carlson - a brutal man. He objects to Candy keeping his old dog. 
Whit - a ranch worker. He is sent to town to fetch the Sheriff after Curley's wife is murdered. 
The Boss - a 'mice fella' (in Candy's words). He is more concerned about his work on the ranch
THEMES 
Major Theme 
The major theme of the book, Of Mice and Men, is that a dream, no matter how impossible to 
obtain, can forge friendship and give meaning to life. George and Lennie dream of owning a 
little farm of ten acres, with a windmill, a little shack, an orchard, and animals. The dream keeps 
them going and lightens the load of their work. It also solidifies their friendship. 
Minor Themes 
One of the minor themes is the tragedy of mental retardation. Lennie never intends to harm 
anything, neither the puppy nor Curley's wife. He is simply too slow to realize his own strength. 
His retardation is the cause of his downfall and death, in spite of George's trying to help him stay 
out of trouble. 
The pain of loneliness is another theme of the book. All the main characters, including George, 
Lennie, Candy, Crooks, Curley's wife, and Slim, express the sadness caused by their feelings of 
loneliness. The craving for company and the longing for sharing real emotions make these 
characters very human. 
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
JOHN STEINBECK 
Born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California, John Ernest Steinbeck was the third of four 
children. Though poor, Steinbeck had a normal childhood and attended public school, graduating 
from Salinas High School in 1919. As a student, he had an inclination towards reading and 
writing, which was encouraged by his mother, a schoolteacher herself. He was a frequent 
contributor to the school magazine. 
Steinbeck studied at Stanford University from 1920 to1925. Although he intended to become a 
marine biologist, he never completed a degree. The courses that attracted his attention most were 
zoology, English, and classical literature. While at Stanford, he wrote frequently and was often 
published in the college newspaper. After leaving the University, he worked at a variety of jobs. 
He went to New York, determined to become a writer. Between 1925 and 1927, he attempted to 
earn a living as a reporter and a free-lance writer, but was unsuccessful. Disappointed, he left 
New York and returned to the West Coast, where he met his first wife, Carol. 
Steinbeck's first novel, Cup of Gold (1929), is based on the life of Sir Henry Morgan, a famous 
English pirate of the sixteen hundreds. His next work, The Pastures of Heaven (1932), is a 
collection of stories about the people on a farm community near Salinas. In this work, Steinbeck 
focuses on the struggle between human beings and nature. These first two books received scant 
attention. Finally in 1933, Steinbeck achieved success with his short story The Red Pony. 
Steinbeck's next novel, Tortilla Flat (1935), dealt with the migrant workers and poor farmers. In 
Dubious Battle (1936) realistically portrays the labor strife in California during the nineteen 
thirties. This novel also sets forth Steinbeck's concept of group humanity through the character
CHARACTERS 
George 
George is the protagonist and one of the two main characters in Of Mice and Men. A 
compassionate, kind, responsible, patient, and understanding man, he faithfully watches out for 
Lennie, his retarded friend and constant companion. When Lennie gets into trouble, George 
always helps him find a solution or get away. George is also shown to be a thinking person. He 
knows he must discipline Lennie in order to help him, and he is often seen telling Lennie what he 
has done wrong and what he must do to improve. He is also a planner, telling Lennie where he 
should go if there is trouble on the ranch. He also works hard to make the dream of owing a ten- 
acre farm become a reality. Unlike the other ranch hands that squander their money on women 
and drink, George refuses to spend a dime frivolously, saving everything to make the dream 
come true. He wants to buy the farm so that he and Lennie can live there, free from problems and 
constraints caused by society. 
Sometimes George is portrayed as an angry man, for he gets frustrated with Lennie's slowness. 
Although he scolds and even screams at him, he is never intentionally mean or cruel. Several 
times George thinks about what he could do if Lennie were not around, but they are just idle 
thoughts. George is legally free to desert the retarded man at any point in time; emotionally, 
however, he is entirely bound to Lennie, as his protector and companion. Lennie also keeps 
George from feeling the isolation and loneliness that possess the other ranch hands. 
Because George cares for Lennie so deeply, he cannot allow him to die brutally at the hands of 
Curley and the angry ranch hands. After painting the picture of the farm in Lennie's mind one 
last time, he takes Carlson's pistol and mercifully shoots his friend, in a totally selfless act of 
kindness. It was a terribly difficult thing for George to do, and at the end of the book, Steinbeck 
paints him feeling lost and alone without his faithful companion and without a dream to keep 
him going. 
Lennie 
Lennie is George's friend and constant companion, who is mentally retarded and highly 
dependent on George. He suffers from a child's mentality within a giant's body. He is innocent 
and forgetful like a child. He is also attracted to small, soft things because of his child-like, 
gentle nature. Unfortunately, he often harms the things he loves accidentally. As a huge man 
with heavy arms and powerful hands, he does not know or understand his own strength. 
Lennie idolizes George, his kind caretaker, almost like a god. In Lennie's eyes, George is totally 
kind, faithful, and good. He tries hard to remember everything George tells him to do and obeys 
him implicitly without asking any questions. Even though Lennie did not know how to swim, he 
jumped in a river one time when George jokingly told him to do so. Because Lennie is slow, 
forgetful, and powerful, he causes trouble for George wherever they go. They had to leave the 
last job because Lennie reached out and grabbed the dress of a little girl and would not let go. 
When she screamed, the townspeople came and blamed Lennie for attempted rape.
PLOT (Structure) 
Of Mice and Men is almost a long short story, divided into six chapters. Steinbeck takes great 
care to develop the tragic plot in a classical fashion. The first two chapters are largely expository, 
describing the isolated setting, introducing the characters, and developing the relationship 
between Lennie and George. The rising action begins in the third chapter with the confrontation 
between Curley and Lennie. When the huge man easily crushes Curley's hand, his strength is 
actually seen for the first time and foreshadows that there will be trouble on the ranch. The fourth 
part of the book focuses on the theme of loneliness and develops Curley's wife, who is shown to 
be a lonely woman, constantly seeking company. In the fifth chapter, her loneliness leads her 
into the barn, where she engages Lennie in conversation. It has been clearly foreshadowed that 
nothing good can happen in this encounter. In fact, Curley's wife is the instrument causing the 
tragic ending of the book. In a flirtatious manner, she asks Lennie to stroke her soft hair. When 
she feels his powerful hands that do not know how to be gentle, she panics, screams for help, and 
brings about the climax of the novel. When Lennie covers her mouth and shakes her to be quiet, 
he breaks her neck. The sixth and final chapter includes the falling action and inevitable outcome 
of the tragedy. Lennie must be punished for killing Curley's wife, even though it was truly an 
accident. To save his friend from a cruel end in Curley's hands, George shoots Lennie himself. 
Because it is a short novel, it is tightly held together. The opening scene of the book pictures 
George and Lennie beside a stream; the last chapter of the book is the same setting. In the first 
chapter, George tells Lennie to come back to the stream and hide in the bushes if there is trouble 
on the ranch. In the next four chapters, George reminds Lennie of the hiding place, and Lennie 
tries hard to remember it. In fact, in the sixth chapter, he is very proud of himself for 
remembering to come to the stream and wait for George. The end of the novel works and is 
believable because Steinbeck has taken great care to emphasize the hiding place throughout the 
book. 
Two themes also hold the book together. In the first chapter, George and Lennie talk about their 
dream of owning a farm; Lennie is particularly enthralled with raising rabbits there. In every 
chapter of the book, the dream of the farm is discussed, and Old Candy convinces George and 
Lennie to let him join them in their dream. Curley's wife scoffs at the dream; Crooks does too at 
first, and then contemplates joining them on the farm, hoping to find a place where he is not 
treated with such prejudice. The dream, however, comes to an abrupt end with Lennie's death. 
Before George shoots him, he asks Lennie to picture the farm in his mind, for he wants him to 
die believing the dream will come true. 
The theme of loneliness is also seen throughout the book. The actual setting of the farm is lonely 
and isolated. The ranch hands share a bunkhouse with one another, but have no family and no 
emotional ties. One by one they express their loneliness. Old Candy begs to go the farm, so his 
last days can be filled with companionship and happiness; he fears being treated like his old dog. 
Crooks, because he is black, is forced to live in a shed by himself and is not allowed to interact 
with the white workers. Because Curley's wife is miserable on the ranch and dislikes her 
husband, she also feels isolated. Because George and Lennie have each other, they are the only 
ones on the ranch who do not feel the misery of loneliness. Unfortunately, after George has to 
kill Lennie, he becomes the loneliest of all the characters. He has lost his best friend and his life's 
dream
Major Theme 
The major theme of the book is the beauty of a dream, for it gives a person a purpose in life. 
George and Lennie dream of owning a farm that they can call their own and where Lennie can 
raise rabbits and stay out of trouble, free from the constraints of society. Both men constantly 
keep this dream in front of them. In fact, Lennie asks George to repeat the dream over and over. 
George, himself, refuses to frivolously spend any money, for he is saving every dime to buy the 
land. The dream keeps both of the working; it also keeps them close. 
Curley's wife and Crooks, two cynics, scoff at the dream of Lennie and George as being 
unrealistic, but Candy sees its possibility and its beauty. He offers to give his life savings to help 
make the dream a reality, for he wants to join George and Lennie on the farm, living out his last 
days in happiness. When the two men accept Candy, he suddenly has a new lease on life; the 
dream has given him hope for a better future. 
At the end of the novel, the dream dies. As soon as Candy sees the body of Curley's wife, he 
understands his own loss of a dream and curses her for it. George also knows the dream has died 
with Lennie's death, and the novel ends with his going off to spend his money on liquor. He no 
longer has a reason to save his pennies. Without a dream, his life is sad and meaningless. 
Minor Theme 
The pain of loneliness is another key theme of the novel. Early in the book, George sets the 
lonely mood by stating, 'Guys like us that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.' 
Candy becomes the picture of total loneliness caused by age. He is rejected by all for being old 
and handicapped. His only company, his faithful, old, blind dog, is taken from him and killed; 
Candy fears that he will be treated the same way in the future and wants to join Lennie and 
George on the ranch. Crooks is the picture of total loneliness caused by prejudice. Because he is 
the only black man on the ranch, he is forced to live alone in a shed of the barn, and no one will 
have any interaction with him. As the only female on the ranch, Curley's wife also voices her 
loneliness. She says, 'I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.' Slim is also a lonely man 
and says, 'Maybe everybody in the whole damn world is scared of each other. Only Lennie and 
George are spared from the feelings of loneliness that pervade the book, for they have one 
another. 
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IRONY 
The major irony in the book is that George kills Lennie because he loves him. He wants to spare 
Lennie from dying a brutal death at the hands of Curley and the other ranch hands who are 
enraged over the death of Curley's wife; therefore, he selflessly does the terrible deed himself, as 
a merciful act to his friend. Ironically, George steals Carlson's pistol to use; it is the same pistol 
that killed Candy's old dog in order to save it from suffering and misery. Ironically, the ranch 
hands felt great sympathy and sorrow for Candy over the loss of his dog; but they feel no 
sympathy for George over losing his best friend and companion. Slim 
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